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Patriot Act scares off foreign depositors in Montana

February 15, 2004 /

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America’s war on terrorism is complicating operations of Montana’s Glacier International Depository, which was created to attract overseas deposits.

A new president and chief executive officer with international finance expertise has been brought in to steer the depository through. He’s Louis Roman of Bridgeport, Conn.

Associated Press

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/02/15/build/state/45-depository.inc

Roman graduated from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut and holds a master’s degree in finance and international marketing from Harvard University, according to a news release.

Robert "Smokey" Doore Sr. said he would remain chairman of the depository, and Dennis Lambert will remain as vice chairman.

The depository was chartered under the Blackfeet Indian Tribe’s regulations in November 1999 to cater to foreigners who want to keep their deposits and identities confidential. Doore said it has a dozen customers from areas including Japan, Hong Kong and London. It has five employees.

Doore said the Patriot Act and other homeland security measures require so much scrutiny on international transactions that several of Glacier International’s customers have decided to keep their money closer to home.

"We had a lot of interest coming out of the Far East and the Middle East," but now "those are the areas that foreign policy is most affecting," he said.

Glacier International plans to focus on other territories such as the Orient, Australia and Europe, Doore said.

Part of the original plan was to encourage depositors to invest in projects on the Blackfeet Reservation, and that is still part of the business plan, Doore said.

Foreign capital depositories in the United States offer the advantage of a stable political environment and access to U.S. tax-exempt securities, according to Montana’s Department of Administration, banking and finance division.

In 1997, the Montana Legislature passed a law allowing individuals or corporations to set up depositories, but there haven’t been any takers or even recent applications, said Annie Goodwin, commissioner of Banking and Financial Institutions.